Do you know over 1 billion hours of videos are being watched daily on YouTube?
That’s Billion with a ‘B’ – quite fascinating to see how much people love watching videos.🤯
Our point?
Whether you wish to be an influencer or build a brand, YouTube is the perfect place to begin with.
But the platform is home to some solid competition from top content creators and YouTubers.
So, how to get more views on YouTube?
In this article, we’ll walk you through some best practices of YouTube that will help you skyrocket your viewership in no time.
Let’s get started with the basics.
What Counts as a View on YouTube?
Simply put, every time someone watches a video on YouTube for at least 30 sec, it’s counted as a view.
Even if you play your own video, it works the same.
We know what you’re thinking: Viewing your own videos to increase views🤔
We all have that thought once. However, you can’t fool YouTube’s algorithm.
If a bot or a user refreshes or reviews a video repeatedly, the algorithm detects and discards it as a fresh view.
Generally, you can see the views count in real-time. However, sometimes it takes one or two days for YouTube analytics to reflect the numbers.
If you’re not able to view that instantly, take a chill-💊, have patience 🧘🏻♂️, and try refreshing your YT analytics after 1-2 days.
Now that you know how YouTube counts views on your videos, let’s get to know some expert tips and tricks on how to get more views on youtube🚀
7 Expert Tips to Get More Views on YouTube
#1. Create Unique Content
The best content creators create compelling content.
For instance, look at BB ki Vines.
Who doesn’t know him?
He can make most of us laugh with his stunning comedic content and the multiple roles he plays.
We’re not saying to do something similar. Instead, try doing something as unique as this.
Flex your creativity, do some research on how top YouTubers started, and make something people can’t resist watching.
Pro Tip: Use tools like AnswerThePublic to crack what topics or questions people are discussing across social platforms.
Although finding the right niche might take time, ensure the niche you select is comprehensive enough to provide you with a plethora of content ideas for multiple videos.
On another note, a boring title can ruin all the efforts you have put in to create unique content.
Let us ask, have you clicked on a video with a boring title?
No, because we are window-viewers. We want to watch those videos which catch our eyeballs at the very first instance.
A video title is a crisp text explaining what your channel is all about. It tells people what to expect from the content.
Like this video, titles should be clear and direct as what you’re offering.
Having said that, never use click bait and ambiguous titles on your video. It isn’t good for your reputation.
#2. Multiply Your Views By Creating a Playlist
Organizing videos into playlists help the viewers in two ways:
- They get similar content in one place, which saves them time and effort in more searches
- Whenever you click on a video that is a part of the playlist, the next video autoplay as soon as the current one ends
This makes things super easy for viewers, who can now watch more relatable videos without extra effort.
As a result, the videos get greater engagement and attract more views.
But don’t put unrelated content into a single playlist. It leads to a bad user experience.
For example, look at how Ankur Warikoo has organized his channel.
That’s how you can create a seamless user experience and gain more views on your content.
#3. Learn the Know-How of YouTube SEO
YouTube SEO can help you come up with killer content ideas. Wondering how?
Let’s see.
Much like Google, YouTube is also a search engine. The only difference is YouTube displays results solely in video format.
So, if your video ranks among the top keyword searches, it will automatically rank higher. Results?
✅ Uptick in views
✅ More visibility and reach
✅ More subscribers
Here’s how you can attain all three goals by doing simple research.
Suppose you came up with a list of topics. Now, search for those on YouTube.
There you’ll see the suggested search queries as shown in the below image👇🏻
That helps to capture the audience’s interest so that you can find inspiration for your next video.
Once you’re done finding the keywords, it’s time to optimize other vital aspects of your video.
To get started, make sure you use your target keywords at least once in all– title, description, and tags.
However, refrain from stuffing too many keywords to get more views on youtube.
YouTube algorithms consider it a black hat SEO practice to fool or manipulate search results, and you can even get penalized by the platform. You may ask what kind of penalties?
In an attempt to get more views on youtube by undesired practices YouTube can suspend your channel or delete the particular video in some cases.
#4. Use Cards and End Screens to Promote Other Videos
Cards
Cards are interactive notifications that appear on the top right corner of a YouTube video.
YouTube creators share clickable links to relevant content via cards.
Ideally, it’s a potent way to promote other videos without undermining viewers’ experience. Moreover, it also boosts your YouTube rankings as a result of increased watch time.
End Screens
An end screen can feature other video links, encourage viewers to subscribe, and links to other relevant channels.
To sum up, using cards and end screens effectively attracts higher engagement and widens your online presence. Because that helps people discover other meaningful content, they wouldn’t find otherwise.
#5. Create Custom Eye-Catching Thumbnails
There are a thousand ways in which people stumble upon your content. And they’re in a hurry.
That’s why you should never stint on thumbnails because it’s the first thing they see.
A catchy and unique thumbnail is inevitable to get more views on YouTube. So, let’s talk about creating one.
Here are three things to look for while designing a perfect thumbnail for your video:
- Portrays exactly what’s inside the video
- Draws the immediate attention of people
- Includes titles along with texts for better context
That being said, using misleading information to trick users into clicking thumbnails results in a lower ranking.
Again, any attempt to outsmart the algorithm can land you and your YouTube channel in trouble. So it’s best to avoid such practices.
Pro Tip: Get thumbnail ideas by researching other top content creators in your niche and add your creativity to stand out.
#6. Build Relationships (Host Contests, FAQs, and Giveaway Sessions)
Hosting contests and giveaways is a popular trend to accumulate more subscribers on your channel.
Not only that, but it’s a popular way to generate views and build a trustworthy relationship with your tribe.
Gadget reviewers on YouTube generally run such campaigns and giveaways to attract potential subscribers.
Similarly, if you’re a finance content creator, giving prizes like coupons on certain trading apps or some personal finance books is a fantastic way to gain more exposure.
Though it’s one of the top-tier self-promotion strategies, all of this is a part of building a community and relationship.
#7. Promote Your YouTube Videos on Other Channels
This is the most fundamental rule for getting more views on your YouTube channel.
Just like YouTube, people use other social media platforms too. And getting a word out there about your content can work like magic.
Here’s an excellent way to do it.
You can post a teaser of your content on other social media channels and attach the full link to that video back on YouTube. YouTube creators do that all the time.
Some people, however, post texts and images with their content links on other social media platforms.
It won’t work that way.
Because algorithms impede off-platform links, thus resulting in lower views and impressions.
There’s a lot you can do to leverage Facebook, Instagram, and other channels to promote your YouTube channel.
Wrapping Up
Nothing precedes the power of valuable content. Once you’ve aced the content game, you can try these steps to upscale your channel.
Moreover, not every step mentioned here is for everyone. If you’re just starting, giving away freebies won’t make sense.
So it’s important to know where you stand and what you want to achieve. Once you’re clear with the goal, you can use these to succeed.